Kansas Science Olympiad
Events

Anatomy: This event encompasses the anatomy (structure and function) of the digestive and respiratory systems and the effects of aging and diseases on them.

Awesome Aquifers: Students will construct an aquifer and answer questions about groundwater concepts

Bottle Rocket: Prior to the tournament, teams construct two rockets designed to stay aloft for the greatest amount of time

Compute This: This event integrates Personal Computing (PC) technology, the Internet, and quantitative data analysis. Teams are presented with a problem that requires quantitative data captured from the public Internet and the organization and presentation of data in a graphical format. Short answer questions related to the problem are also included.

Crime Busters: Given a scenario, a collection of evidence, and possible suspects, students will perform a series of tests. These test results along with other evidence will be used to solve a crime.

Disease Detectives: Students will use their investigative skills in the scientific study of disease, injury, health, and disability in populations or groups of people with a focus on food borne illness.

Dynamic Planet: Students will use process skills to complete tasks related to Earth's fresh waters.

Experimental Design: This event will determine a team’s ability to design, conduct, and report the findings of an experiment actually conducted on site.

Food Science: Using their understanding of the chemistry and physical properties of baking ingredients, teams will answer questions at a series of stations.

Forestry: This event will test student knowledge of North American trees that are on the Official National Tree List.

Keep the Heat: Teams must construct an insulated device prior to the tournament that is designed to retain heat. Students must also complete a written test on thermodynamic concepts.

Meteorology: This event emphasizes the use of process skills within designated meteorological topics. Skills to be addressed and evaluated may include generating inferences, making predictions, problem solving, observing, formulating and evaluating hypotheses, and analyzing and interpreting data.

Micorbe Mission: Teams will answer questions, solve problems, and analyze data pertaining to microbes.

Mission Possible: Prior to the competition, teams must design, build, test, and document one "Rube Goldberg®-like Device" that completes a required Final Task using a sequence of consecutive tasks.

Mousetrap Vehicle: Teams design, build, and test one vehicle using one mousetrap as its sole means of propulsion to reach a target as quickly, accurately and as close to their predicted time as possible.

Optics: Teams compete in activities and answer questions related to geometric and physical optics.

Reach for the Stars: Students will demonstrate an understanding and basic knowledge of the properties and evolution of stars, open clusters and globular clusters, and normal and star-forming galaxies.

Road Scholar: Participants will respond to questions that may use one or more state highway maps, USGS topographic maps, internet-generated maps, a road atlas, and satellite/arial images.

Rocks and Minerals: Teams will demonstrate their knowledge of rocks and minerals.

Storm the Castle: Prior to the tournament, teams design, construct, and calibrate a device that uses only the energy of a falling counterweight to launch a projectile as far and accurately as possible.

Towers: The objective of this event is to design and build the most efficient Tower meeting the requirements specified in the rules.

Water Quality: The event will focus on evaluating aquatic environments.

Write It Do It: One student will write a description of an object and how to build it, and then the other student will attempt to construct the object from this description..